Best K-Pop Girl Groups Right Now

Best K-Pop Girl Groups Right Now

Never mind the Spice Girls, Korea has the fresh face of girl groups on lock. Whether you’ve noticed it yet or not, the K-pop genre is not just finding fans in South Korea anymore. Now that it’s becoming more of a global sensation, we sifted through the best K-pop girl groups in business right now to bring you our five favorites, spanning a wide range of pop and hip-hop sounds. From breaking ground as the first K-pop group to perform at SXSW to the first K-pop group to land a single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, we’ve got them all right here.

If you’re up for the challenge, see if you can get with 2NE1’s choreography. It’s a little more complicated than what you might remember Posh Spice doing in the “Wannabe,” video.

Brown Eyed Girls

America is already familiar with the Brown Eyed Girls—well, their dance moves anyways. Remember the hip-swinging choreography that makes up the main dance in the “Gentleman” video? Psy didn’t invent that in front of his bathroom mirror. The “Gentleman” choreography is actually a recreation of the catchy moves in the Brown Eyed Girls’ 2009 hit, “Abracadabra.” And not only did Psy recreate the dance number, but the five time Guinness World Record-holder also picked up one of the members of the K-pop group, Ga In, to be his co-star in the music video. This exposure has helped catapult the girl group into international stardom and in the wake of the success of “Gentleman” they’ve dropped a new album, Black Box, that is projected to help strengthen their global appeal even more.

Check out the choreographed version of their video for "Kill Bill," above.

4minute

Speaking of Psy, have you ever wondered who his co-star in “Gangnam Style” was? As it turns out, she’s the frontwoman in K-Pop group 4minute, which also experienced jumps in fame after “Gangnam Style” struck gold. The group scored their first #1 hit on the K-Pop Hot 100 with “What’s Your Name?” and followed that with the makings of a K-Pop summer anthem, dubbed “Is It Poppin’?” The video for “Is It Poppin’?” garnered over 2 million hits less than 4 days after its initial release, solidifying these girls as a K-Pop group to watch on the up-and-coming international star scene.

Watch the video for "Is It Poppin'?" above.

Wonder Girls

This K-pop group broke a huge record in 2009 as the first South Korean band to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. with their single, “Nobody.” Since then, the Wonder Girls have gone on to perform with American stars including Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers, as well as appearing at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in 2012. Last summer, they dropped “Like Money”, featuring American rapper Akon, and there’s promises abounding that an English-language album is due to release at any time.

Watch the video for "Like Money," above.

f(x)

Continuing with the hiatus theme: Famous K-poppers f(x) are back together following a year-long break and judging by their string of musical successes this year, the hiatus was a very productive decision. Earlier this year, f(x) became the first K-pop group in history to perform at SXSW. Then, at the end of July, they released their sophomore LP, Pink Tape, in South Korea and America, and the album didn’t waste any time shooting to the top of various K-Pop charts.

You can sample their sound with “Rum Pum Pum Pum,” the lead single off the new album, and watch the video above.

2NE1

After taking a year-long break following their first world tour, 2NE1 is back and bigger than ever in 2013. A new album release date is set for October, with plans to drop a new single and accompanying music video once a month leading up to the big release. If you haven’t heard of the group before, check out “I Love You,” their last single to go #1 on K-Pop’s Hot 100 list before their hiatus. Their sound has evolved since their return; their latest single to drop in the beginning of July, “Falling In Love,” has a decidedly more hip-hop feel. Will.i.am also collaborated with 2NE1 on his latest album, #willpower, which has helped to bulk up their presence on the American music scene.